2 reales, green.

Plate I emerald

Plate I oliveApril 16, 1857

Plate I sapphireJanuary 19, 1857

Plate II greenMay 19, 1857

Plate III blue-green

Three plates were used: Plate I & II with 60
subjects arranged in 6 columns and 10 rows, and plate III with
190 subjects arranged as 19 columns and 10 rows. The stamps
produced from plate III are also found on porous wove paper from
1858.

There were 13 deliveries of the 2 reales stamps from the
printers. The actual number of printings is unknown. Stamps from
the first two (smaller) plates are much scarcer than stamps from
plate III, but scarcity can be strongly dependent on which
district the stamps were used in, since some districts received a
larger proportion of the early plate stamps.

Issue quantities from Chapman:

Quantity sent to districts

1629773

Returned from districts

-13438

Total issued

1616335

From plate I & II

285780

From plate III

1330555

Surviving stamps could approach:

Survival rate

Quantity surviving

Plate I & II

Plate III

2%

4857

27470

3%

7285

41205

4%

9714

54940

It is not possible to say whether the stamps from the various plates have
survived at the same rate. It is generally believed that plate I and II are
equally scarce. However, some experts are of the opinion that plate II is
scarcer than plate I.

Though the 2 reales was also used split in half, it was only done
very rarely. The number of split stamps hardly affects the
quantity of surviving whole stamps.

According to Chapman the first delivery of the 2 reales was printed exclusively
using plate I and II, and plate III was used for production as of the second
delivery from the printer. It should be noted that the number of
stamps received from the printer is not the number of stamps
printed. We will show how it is possible to substantiate Chapman's claim.

The following timeline will try to show that all the stamps from the first
delivery were distributed before March 1857, and that only stamps from plate III
were distrubuted after that date.

July 30, 1856

First delivery: 285780 good stamps. 4763 sheets
of 60 or one of 250 combinations with sheets of 190 stamps.

August 1 - December 30, 1856

All consignment quantities are divisible by 60,
but not by 190, assuming that only whole sheets were
distributed.

December 30, 1856

Second delivery: 247000 good stamps. Could be as
1300 sheets of 190 or one of 216 combinations with 60 stamp
sheets.

January 10, 1857

Mexico City receives 1900 stamps: 10 sheets of
190 presumably, or 19 sheets of 60 + 4 sheets of 190, if only
whole sheets were distributed. All other districts receive
consignments divisible by 60. Most deliveries to Mexico City from
this date on are divisible by 190.

January 31, 1857

Third delivery: 345420 stamps. Could be as 1818
sheets of 190, 5757 sheets of 60 or any one of 302 other
combinations.

February 25, 1857

Queretaro and Tabasco receive the last
consignments in a size divisible by 60. Prior to this date all
districts except for Mexico City received quantities divisible by
60.

February 25, 1857

The total quantity of dos reales stamps delivered to this date is 281100 =
4685 sheets. This would leave 78 sheets not accounted for.

March 3, 1857

Veracruz receives 9120 stamps, a number
divisible by both 60 and 190.

March 3, 1857

Orizava receives 3040 stamps, a number not
divisible by 60, implying that all or part of the delivery was in
sheets of 190.

Mexico City receives 120 stamps, as two sheets of 60. All 60 subject sheets would
then be accounted for.

From March 3, 1857 and onward most consignments are divisible by
190. This gives reason for the following speculations:

The first delivery from the printer consisted entirely of stamps from plate I and / or plate II.

The second delivery consisted entirely of stamps from plate III

All 285,780 stamps delivered on July 31, 1856 were sent to the districts.

The earliest date for a plate III stamp would be January 10, 1857, and it would be from Mexico City

Any stamp from Mexico City with a cancel date after late March 1857 is most likely from plate III.

The earliest date for a plate III stamps overprinted and used outside of Mexico City would be March 3, 1857, from Veracruz or Orizava. Any stamp used prior to this date, and not from Mexico City, is almost certainly from plate I or II.

All stamps from plate I and II were distributed by mid March 1857.

It must be stressed that no proof has been presented here, only
conjecture. It should be noted that stamps could
potentially be used a long time after they were distributed.

Plate identification hints.

Plate I

Plate II

Plate III

Vertical spacing between stamps

6 - 8 mm.

4 - 5 mm.

0 - 3.5 mm.

Colors

Emerald, sapphire, olive and dark olive.

Green, "dry" green

Deep bluish green, olive and yellow green. Many shades.

Paper

Hard

Hard

Hard or porous

Shading lines

Weak, indistinct

Weak, indistinct

Heavy, well defined

Framelines

Yes

Unknown, but most likely.

Yes, possibly faint

Plate I stamps are normally about 7mm apart. A vertical pair from plate II
showing a 4mm margin was in the Mazepa sale on December 10, 2000.

There are other minor things to look for, but some are not
consistently present. The horizontal spacing is not a good
indicator for determining which plate a stamp originated from, since it varies
a lot. In general, the stamps were spaced a bit further apart on plate I and II,
but some positions are as close as they often are on plate III.

One indicator is somewhat subjective, and necessitates a stamp
for comparison (or a lot of experience), and that is the quality
of the impression. It is generally better in plate I than in
plate II. The colors found on plate I are not found on plate II.

CAVEAT EMPTOR: The difference between plate I and II has not been adequately
described to me at this point. The only real difference seems to be the vertical
spacing between the stamps. However, very few vertical pairs exist (none exist
from plate I), and very few stamps have adequate margins to show even a small
piece of the stamp above or below. Color seems to be used to distinguish between
plate I and plate II, a very inadequate and subjective distinction, at best.

The emerald green stamps from the Mexico district are only found
with the solid, serif font overprints. The hollow type overprints
were put in use later and are not found on at least the emerald
plate I. It is unknown if the hollow type overprints were used on
some of the other plate I and plate II stamps. It is common on
plate III stamps.

The following images were provided by Nicholas Follansbee. They show the major
colors found on the 2 reales stamps.

Please be aware that color is a subjective perception. A very large amount of
these stamps are inaccurately described by buyers and sellers alike. It is
strongly advised that you get an expert opinion before buying the more expensive
stamps. Visit MEPSI for info on getting a
stamp expertized.

2 Reales Color Distribution by District.(Numbers in columns are prices from the Follansbee Catalog, 1998).Main districts.

Known district

Plate IEmerald

Plate IOlive

Plate IDark olive

Plate ISapphire

Plate IIGreen

Plate IIIBlue-green

Plate IIIGreen shades

Acapulco

150

200

70

Apam

60

B. California

3500

Campeche

75

15

Chalco

125

Chiapas

150

200

65

Chihuahua

60

70

50

10

C. Bravos

1500

Cordova

150

30

(50*)

10

Cuernavaca

75

[Unpriced]

75

10

Durango

60

30

60

3.50

Guadalajara

40

[Note]

15

8

60

2.50

Guanajuato

40

[Unpriced]

40

2.50

Hermosillo

75

75

25

Huejutla

125

[Unpriced]

40

I. del Carmen

(X)

500

400

Ixtlahuaca

500

250

200

Jalapa

50

3

Lagos

15

6

Lerma

(X)

[Unpriced]

300

Maravatio

100

50

20

Mazatlan

100

120

15

3

Merida

75

[Unpriced]

30

Mexico

30

50 [Note]

[Note]

5

40

2.50

Monterrey

30

8

Morelia

75

120

30

10

40

2.50

Oaxaca

35

[Unpriced]

3.50

Orizava

75

3

Pachuca

60

100

15

Puebla

30

40

[Unpriced]

40

2.50

Queretaro

100

10

2.50

Saltillo

150

30

50

20

S.L. Potosi

40

100

40

[Unpriced]

40

3

Sultepec

500

350

Soyaniquilpan

500

(150*)

500

Tabasco

75

20

Tampico

40

30

40

5

Temascaltepec

250

(200*)

100

70

Tepeji del Rio

500

Tixtla Guerrero

[Unpriced]

200

50

Tlalpujahua

150

75

50

Toluca

60

15

Tula

150

60

Tulancingo

125

Veracruz

30

30

7

40

2.50

Victoria

75

[Unpriced]

35

Yguala

1000

Zacatecas

35

25

40

[Unpriced]

50

2.50

ZacatecasManuscript

60

Entries marked with a number followed by a * in parentheses were most likely NOT
sent and therefore do NOT exist.

Note: According to Bubba Bland, an expert on the 2 reales, the olive shade from
Guadalajara exists, but olive shade from Mexico City does not.
The sapphire from Mexico City is only known as a forgery. The olive shade from
Chihuahua, Huejutla, Merida and Veracruz is known, but is (or was) not priced by
the Follansbee catalog. Stamps in the emerald shade from Tixtla Guerrero are
priced in the latest edition of the Follansbee catalog. Many other stamps may
exist, and even in quantity, though they are not priced.

The numbers indicated (with permission) in this table are the prices quoted in
the 1998 Follansbee catalog. The catalog was last revised in 2006 (3rd edition),
and you are strongly encouraged to acquire a copy of the newest version. Many
updates have been made. See footnote.

The emerald green plate I stamps seems to be the only kind sent to the following
districts: Apam, Baja California, Chalco,
Ciudad Bravos, Tepeji del Rio and Tulancingo. The fact that some varieties are
not priced, should not be taken to indicate that they do not exist.

The following districts did not overprint their stamps, and are therefore only
recognizable by the cancel: Colima, Guadalupe Hidalgo, Perote,
Polotitlan, San Felipe del Obraje, Tepeji del Rio, Texcoco, Tlalpam, Villa
del Valle and Zitacuaro. Guadalupe Hidalgo and Tlalpam were
overprinted with the MEXICO overprint. Tepeji del Rio is found both with and
without the MEXICO overprint.

Guadalupe Hidalgo and Tlalpam received stamps from plate I (or, less likely,
from plate II). On March 12, 1859, Zitacuaro received one sheet of 190 stamps
from plate III. None of these stamps are known to exist today.